


Prismatic Flowers — A Fifth Route

by Apocryphist



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Everybody Lives, Gen, They/Them Pronouns for My Unit | Byleth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:07:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22283842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apocryphist/pseuds/Apocryphist
Summary: What if Byleth had become Professor of all three houses? What if you really could recruit every single playable character from every house route? What if Dimitri, Edelgard, and Claude joined forces against the powers that be?It wouldn’t be easy, but everyone would live.This fic contains the main story and battles of this hypothetical fifth route. Supports between characters, including ones that would only interact on this route, are in another fic and are available on request. Basically, you get to pick which characters get Supports, and decide which ones are canon for yourself, just like the game.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Claude von Riegan, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Edelgard von Hresvelg, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Edelgard von Hresvelg & My Unit | Byleth & Claude von Riegan, Edelgard von Hresvelg & Claude von Riegan
Comments: 11
Kudos: 47





	1. Prelude - Pegasus Moon

Byleth had spent the better part of a lifetime silent. They couldn't say how many years they had lived as Jeralt's shadow, at his side in battle and in life. They were never the one rousing the men, reassuring the clients, or making the decisions. Now, that was all they did.

  
Byleth didn't hate the responsibility — in fact, they were grateful for it. For all the stability and comfort of the years with Jeralt's mercenaries, they had sleepwalked through them, not caring much for anything or anyone besides their father. Now they had a whole house of students to care for, to nurture, to share life with.

  
Or three houses, to be fair.

  
Byleth wasn't sure exactly when it happened, but at a certain point, they had recruited more students than the other two houses combined. They even had Manuela and Hannemann helping them lecture — and, hell, auditing Byleth's own lectures sometimes. After that, it just made more sense to teach the class as a whole. There were three professors, three houses, but functionally they learned and fought and laughed as one.

  
Not too long ago, Byleth had considered this a lot for one first-year professor. It still was, they supposed, but responsibility was relative. Any lecture would be easier than telling their students that they were at the center of the most important religious event in a millennium.

  
As the words left Byleth's lips, they were full of apprehension, fear, and a little awe at the circumstances. Byleth wondered how obvious that was, or if their face and voice both seemed as impassive as ever. Regardless, the words themselves would be enough to prompt gawking and shock. Byleth almost felt like they were outside their own body, watching themselves stand in front of three dozen young people and telling them they would witness a revelation like the holy warriors of Seiros herself.

  
Standing in the otherwise empty cathedral, vaulted ceilings overhead echoing their every word, Byleth felt a bit like praying. The memory of Sothis's smug giggling put a stop to that thought — after all, who would Byleth pray to? Themselves? Instead, they were left alone in the moment, waiting for anybody else to speak up.

  
"You're going to receive the goddess's revelation at the Holy Tomb?" Claude was the first person to respond, his voice echoing through the previously silent Cathedral. His hand was on his forehead, his eyes downcast as he thought, but there was a bit of a chuckle in his voice. "That's news to me. I did not see that coming."

  
Byleth had a feeling he had known more than the rest of the students — after all, he hadn't shied away from spying on Rhea and Seteth before — but the reaction was mostly genuine. His little "I still can't believe this" look on his face told them as much.

  
"To think will have the honor of witnessing such a historic event." Dimitri wasn't quite smiling, but he wasn't stoic either — he sounded equal parts reverent and grateful. "Whatever the reason, I deeply appreciate you inviting us to accompany you. We are in your debt."

  
"I hate to admit it, but I have to agree." Claude sighed in a jovial show of defeat, but his eyes looked alert — hungry, even — at the opportunities this presented. "Really, teach, what are we even supposed to get you when your birthday rolls around? You let us behold the Holy Tomb of the goddess, so we all have to pitch in and buy you a country?" He grinned broadly, shaking his head. "I swear, you'll still be calling on us for favors until my last black hair goes gray."

  
"A patch of land in the north of the Empire comes to mind,” Edelgard said. “The legislation will take some time to go through, but what do you plan on naming your new nation, Professor?" Her tone as matter-of-fact as ever, only Edelgard's slight smile let the room in on the joke.

  
To Byleth's own surprise, they laughed. Not much of a laugh, more of a half snort half chuckle noise, but more of a laugh than their students had heard them make.

  
"Edelgard, that was amazing," said Claude, a disbelieving smile on his face. Your first joke ever, and you get Teach to laugh? You must've had this planned for months, building up the element of surprise, waiting until they would never expect it."

  
Edelgard shook her head, still smiling. "It's always some sort of scheme with you, isn't it, Claude?"

  
Claude made a 'maybe' gesture, waggling his hand in the air. "Well, you're a smart girl, Edelgard. I'd be foolish not to consider it."

  
"Quite the compliment, coming from such an expert." Edelgard's face fell into her usual serious expression, perfectly composed, as if she were sitting for a portrait back in the Imperial capital. Her eyes met Byleth's. "I'm certain everyone here is honored by their inclusion in this event, and by your invitation to witness it. Thank you, Professor."  
She bowed her head towards her professor, which left Byleth at a bit of a loss. Their inexperience in the art of conversation often passed as being stoic, so they stayed silent, simply returning a quick nod.

  
Thankfully, Claude cut in before Byleth had to say anything. "Still, you have questions, right?" asked Claude, raising an eyebrow at Edelgard.

  
"I'm sure we all do," said Dimitri. "Even our professor."

  
"I am admittedly surprised that the Archbishop would allow so many into such a secret and holy place, considering they had an entire fake mausoleum as a decoy." She cocked her head ever so slightly, questioning. "Does she really trust our class so much?"

  
"Well," said Caspar, shrugging, "we have beaten every bad guy thrown our way. That's a good enough reason, isn't it?"

  
Mercedes seemed equally undaunted by the situation, already certain the Archbishop would have answers. "Maybe she wants as many people to bear witness to the goddesses revelation as possible." Despite not really knowing any more than the rest of them, Mercedes's smile was reassuring. "This hasn't happened in ages, after all. It's definitely worth breaking a few rules, even for the Archbishop, don't you think?"

  
This placated many of the students, but not all of them. "I hear the Archbishop will accompany us to the Holy Tomb," said Dedue, scowling as he absorbed the many contradictions of their circumstances.

  
"Yeah, Lady Rhea's going too, right?" Hilda's typically saccharine tone had a questioning — almost worried — undercurrent to it. “I hear it will be well guarded, but is that really okay?”

  
Finally, something with a simple answer. “Whole battalions will be coming, too,” said Byleth.

  
"The surprises just keep coming." Linhardt stifled a yawn, and Byleth smiled internally. At least some things never changed. "Though it does follow that anyone willing to raid a fake Holy Mausoleum must also be very interested in the Holy Tomb."

  
Leonie nodded in agreement, decisive even as she faced the unknown. "I don't know what type of place this Holy Tomb is, but we should be cautious."

  
"And we know they have spies who can get that information, now that we're all talking about it." Nobody wanted to tread too close to the topic of Jeralt's death, but Felix was never one for tact. Byleth stiffened, but knew Felix was right. They had to be on their guard — that could never happen again.

  
"If Solon's allies are still around, it's certainly true that we don't know when or where they may appear." Ignatz stroked his chin as he considered the possibility, worry creeping into his voice.

  
This rattled several of the students. Ever the knight, Ingrid grasped the stakes quickly and spoke up. "If something happens to Archbishop Rhea, all of Fódlan will suffer. We must protect her at all costs!"

  
Rafael was unflappable. "If something happens, we'll have to take matters into our own hands."It sounded grim, but he was beaming, confident in his abilities.

  
"This may sound mad," began Dimitri, "but perhaps we don't have to worry so much about that." His kingly demeanor always seemed more like a learned affect than a natural extension of his personality, his manner of speech stiff — but if it was artifice, it always worked well enough. His words grabbed the crowd's attention immediately. "Lady Rhea has said that she's capable of protecting herself; I have a feeling that is true." Dimitri rested his chin on his gauntlet, eyes downturned as he contemplated the Archbishop's words. "I thought it was a strange thing for her to say. And beyond that, her movements suggests a great warrior with an extensive military background."

  
Claude laughed and nodded. "Leave it to the crown prince to shrewdly factor in Rhea's fighting ability. You're bold, Dimitri. I love it." He made eye contact as he spoke, pairing his words with one of his trademark coy winks.

  
Dimitri made a noise that began as a stutter and turned into something like a chuckle. “That’s, er, certainly not what you said during our past skirmishes.”

  
“Well,” said Claude, “that was to get you off your game, you know? Not much point in complementing your strengths when we're on opposite sides of the battlefield.” Claude smiled broadly, radiating almost-genuine friendliness. “But since we’re united in purpose now, I can complement you all freely. Who’s next? Edelgard? Hubert?”

  
“No,” came Hubert’s immediate reply.

  
“Hubert," sighed Claude, still grinning, "you are the best at saying no.”

  
Hubert eyed Claude with disdain. "Don't expect thanks." Nobody was looking at Edelgard, but Byleth could see her trying to suppress a smile.

  
"Aw, your little faces are all the thanks I need." Claude kept his tone jovial, but Byleth saw how the look in his eyes changed. He was after something, and joking around was just his way of setting the stage for it.

  
“Really, though, it still doesn’t make sense to me…" His smile didn't falter, but anyone could read the change in the room as the crowd remembered what they were there to talk about. "A goddess was living inside Teach, right?” Claude ran a hand through his hair as he paused to consider his words — or pretend at it, anyway. Always the tactician, he had almost certainly made up his mind before speaking. “But now there’s a ceremony to receive a revelation or whatever." Dorothea, Ignatz, and others nodded as he spoke, coming to the same conclusion. "How could that be necessary anymore? There must be another objective.”

  
Lorenz scoffed, offended. “That’s quite enough babbling, Claude. There is nobody more unfit for a holy ceremony than you.”

  
Claude side-eyed Lorenz, but before he could respond, Edelgard spoke for him. "Actually, I believe Claude is onto something. Dimitri made a very astute point that Rhea moves like a military leader, and she certainly can act as a capable strategist." She folded her arms in front of her, pausing for effect. "Isn’t it possible that so many well armed people will be in attendance because it’s a trap for any remaining allies of Solon?”

  
Dedue reluctantly agreed. "It's possible. The Flame Emperor is still at large."

  
"Who is Rhea, really?" Byleth didn't realize they had said it aloud until they saw the eyes of their students on them again. They felt a pang of guilt for asking the question, for undermining their faith in the Archbishop. At the same time, they were all about to walk into a potentially dangerous situation, and Rhea was still withholding information from them all. The students should doubt. It was dangerous not to.

  
"I wonder…" Dimitri's mind was hard at work picking apart the possibilities, but the sound of his own words echoing in the Cathedral brought him back to the moment. The sudden somberness was unsettling. "Mind, it's also possible that I'm way off track," he said, putting a reassuring note in his voice. "Regardless, I believe we should brace ourselves for anything."

  
Marianne seemed to have something to say on that subject. "Um, divine punishment won't strike us for setting foot in the holy tomb… Right?"

  
Lysithea rolled her eyes. "Good grief. Why are you always so negative?" She opened her mouth to say something else, presumably softening her words, but another person caught her eye. Flayn was standing with her hands clasped together, staring at the intricately patterned marble floor, not saying a thing. "Hm? Flayn? Is something on your mind?"

  
Flayn seemed startled by the question. "Who, me?" She offered up a smile, as if to set Lysithea at ease. If anything, it only deepened Byleth's concern. "No… It is nothing. May we all see this through to the end."

  
"Hey now, who said this was the end?" asked Caspar. "Don't be so gloomy. This is a big honor, after all. And if anything happens," he paused, slamming his fist into his open palm to drive the point home, "we've got this."

  
"Keep your guard up," said Edelgard. "In all likelihood, nothing will happen — but keep an eye out for defensible positions once we reach the tomb."

Dimitri grimaced. "If the Flame Emperor appears, I'm not about to sit on the sidelines. That dastard has escaped justice for too long."

  
"Right." Claude cleared his throat, trying to avoid an awkward silence. "Well, the truth is, we won't know what's going to happen until it happens. All we can do is stay on our guard and play it by ear." He smiled again, but Byleth knew him well enough that they could tell it was another disarming tactic.

  
Dimitri composed himself. "It's about time for Lady Rhea to arrive. Let's all steel ourselves for whatever may occur at this ceremony."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might have noticed that many of the lines in this conversation are direct from the game — don’t worry, everything will diverge from the game more and more after this point. I just have a fun time taking the three versions of how this event was supposed to go, and slamming them into each other haphazardly because there are so many characters that shouldn’t be here at the same time.  
> Also don’t worry, the church/faculty characters will get recruited. They’re just doing something else because I had Too Damn Many characters to write at once.


	2. Prelude — The Throne of Knowledge

“Sit upon the throne. I have no doubt you’ll be gifted with a revelation from the goddess.”

Ascending the steps towards the goddess’s throne felt like lifetimes. Byleth had somehow spent all their life without hearing the gospel of the goddess, but now every step brought them closer to her holiest place, the weight of an entire religion's expectations on their back. 

They didn’t show this on their face, of course, but that was more out of habit than anything else. Byleth had gone so long with every emotion feeling gray that a blank non-expression was like second nature to them. For the most part they didn't think about this trait, but for once, Byleth was actively thankful. They didn't want their students to see them so afraid.

The entire tomb glowed with an eerie green ambience, its cavernous expanse lit not by candle or torch but something else none of them had ever seen before. Byleth had assumed this was the function of the faintly glowing crystals mounted to the towering columns, but it seemed to grow brighter as they grew closer to the throne, and they couldn't help but wonder if that was somehow the source. As they crested the top of the stairs, the ancient stone seems to catch the light in a way that was just suddenly off, but it certainly wasn't glowing. Byleth sighed, internally chiding themselves for trying to understand anything happening to them at this point, and was surprised at how long her sigh lasted. Evidently, she had been holding her breath for the last several paces.

Still, now that she could get a long look at Sothis's throne, the déjà vu struck her like a blow to the chest. She was queasy in a way she swore she couldn't have felt before, but the site was painfully familiar. Sothis had sat here many times, lecturing Byleth on their choices — but now, under this strange magical light, its solemn majesty was apparent. This was the throne of the creator, the seat of a goddess.

And now it belonged to Byleth.

There was nothing left to do but sit down and attempt to fill a throne that was too big for them (and certainly, Byleth thought, much too big for Sothis). The stone was cool to the touch, and despite a brief moment of doubt, seemed to feel like any other stone. It was well carved and certainly quite weathered, and Byleth found themselves wondering if it caught the light differently than the rest of the cavern, but they couldn't be sure. All in all, taking the seat of the creator was almost underwhelming.

Nobody said anything. They all looked between their professor and Archbishop Rhea, waiting for a sign, or at least for one of them to take initiative.

“Well? the Archbishop finally asked. She looked Byleth right in their eyes, as if she was trying to look through them, searching for something she couldn't find. “It was supposed to be but a step away…" Her tone was soft, despondent. Byleth had never seen Rhea like this, but today was a day of many firsts. "What could possibly be missing?”

 _Oh_ , thought Byleth. _There's nobody left to give a revelation. It's not coming._

 _Fuck_.

Byleth couldn’t think of an answer, and wasn’t planning to give one. Silence was a useful tool for them, one that let them get by without revealing how little they knew of the world. Perhaps the teachings of Seiros accounted for this, somehow, but they were at a loss for what to do next.

Past the Archbishop, Claude turned away as something caught his eye.

“Sorry to disturb you when you’re distressed, Archbishop, but it seems some uninvited guests have arrived.”

At first, there were only two men there, standing in the distant doorway. Then, a retinue of Imperial soldiers flooded into the room, the sound of their heavy footsteps echoing throughout the massive space. One was unrecognizable, not somebody Byleth had ever seen before — but the other was unmistakable. The Flame Emperor stood before them all, their very presence an unspoken threat.

It didn’t stay unspoken for long. A laugh arose from the other man, cold and cruel. “Don’t move, any of you! If you move, your lives will be forfeit!” His voice filled the cavernous tomb, somehow sounding clear across the length of it. Even from that distance, his smile was wide enough for Byleth to see clearly, and it wasn’t exactly endearing. “Thank you ever so much for guiding us this far. The Imperial Army will now take possession of everything in the holy tomb!” 

Dedue spoke up first, steely and to the point. “What is the Imperial Army doing here?”

“So, they knew we were heading to the Holy Tomb, and followed us here…” Lysithea was already deep in thought, staring down the imperials as she put the pieces together in her mind. Byleth desperately hoped she was coming to a different inclusion than their own.

“Even the Flame Emperor is here.” Sylvain looked uncharacteristically pensive, frowning as he processed the information. “ That can only mean— ” 

“The Flame Emperor is connected to the Empire.” Linhardt scowled, his usual nonchalant expression evaporating. He didn't even look like this on the field of battle — by his standards, he seemed practically furious. “I never thought that possible.”

"What do you know," said Felix, more than a hint of smugness in his voice.

"What are they doing here? What do they hope to gain?" asked Leonie, looking to Claude.

"There's only one goal for grave robbers like these. Right, Flame Emperor?" Claude flashed a smile at them that was anything but friendly. "You're here to steal the treasure that rests within the Holy Tomb."

"Yes," replied the Flame Emperor, his steely baritone echoing through the chamber. "And no. This is not our goal, but simply another step towards freeing Fódlan."

"Freedom at swordpoint," said Byleth, striding over to the stairs.

"Did Edelgard know about this?" asked Bernadetta. The question was intended for Byleth, but the room carried it farther.

The Flame Emperor paused, weighing the question. "In fact, I gave the order." 

And then she removed her helmet, tossing it at her feet.

Hubert stepped forward from the legion of soldiers, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Emperor. Byleth could tell by the tone that he was wearing his grim smile as he spoke. "I guess that's the end of play-at-school, Lady Edelgard… I mean, Your Majesty." 

"You… made use of us?" The betrayal and confusion in Petra's voice was heartbreaking. "Why?"

"I'm sorry. I cut this path, and now I must follow it." In that moment, Byleth couldn't hear the Flame Emperor — just their student. "My friends… I ask that all of you stay back! It is not my intention to fight you."

Nobody said a word. Instead, the sound of laughter bubbled up from behind Byleth — at first quiet and subdued, but quickly reaching a manic pitch.

“Your friends?” Dimitri snarled, every word brimming with rage. He stepped towards the staircase, and when Byleth reached out to hold him back, he simply brushed them off, his eyes never once wavering from the object of his fury. “Did you show mercy in Remire? In Duscur?” 

Another laugh escaped his lips, a sound with the pain of a wounded animal behind it. “But now that your friends are in danger, now you feel the ghost of a conscience?” 

Edelgard shifted her posture. “I had nothing to do with those—”

“Even now, with a sword at our throat, you claim it is the hand of another?” Dimitri stepped towards the stairs, the blunt end of his lance dragging along the ground. His grip shook with rage. “Do you want to turn your eyes away from the lives you have trampled!?” he demanded, shouting across the room. “You are a monster, the lowliest beast I have ever known. Pretend all you like — I will rend you limb from limb, and parade your corpse through the heart of the Empire until all know your sins!”

Byleth looked to the base of the stairs, where she could see a half-dozen imperial soldiers warp in behind their own battalions. A handful rushed up towards the students, and Dimitri raced down the staircase to meet them. “And,” he snarled, voice low and guttural, “you dogs will share your master’s fate.”

With that final word, Dimitri leapt down the rest of the stairs to meet the imperials lance-first, impaling one and cushioning his fall with the body. One took a swing at him, thinking him unarmed, but Dimitri easily caught the sword by its hilt and turned it against the man himself. The third attacker, an archer, stepped back in a reflexive attempt to put distance between himself and the melee, but stumbled as his back foot missed a step. The archer found his footing quickly, but his mistake had already signed his death warrant. Before he could have his bow up again, Dimitri was within arms reach, grasping the soldiers skull with one hand and twisting until it made a sickening crunch.

The body fell, arrows spilling from its quiver, but Dimitri was still in motion. He grabbed the bow and crouched, quickly plucking an arrow off the stairs and taking aim. Before the next group of soldiers made it up to him, he had already let loose his shot, nearly finding its mark inches from Edelgard's face.

Byleth felt pride in his improvement, then a pang of regret about teaching him that, then another wave of guilt for internally siding with their attackers. At that moment, more Imperial soldiers rushed Dimitri, the first two of them striking in tandem from the left and right. This quickly brought Byleth to their senses; nobody was going to die on their watch again. Not ever.

Dimitri blocked the attack on his left with the length of the iron bow he was holding, its metal buckling under the strain. The soldier on his right nearly embedded an axe in Dimitri's shoulder, but was met with the timely intervention of Byleth's own Sword of the Creator. It extended down the staircase's length, reaching for the man's neck and slicing it clean open as the blade retracted.

The soldier on the left was quickly set off-guard by an arrow to the shoulder, but it didn't seem Dimitri needed the help. He used his opponent's moment of surprise and pain to hook the bowstring under his job, choking him while dragging him to face his Imperial comrades as a human shield.

Dimitri had always been the first person to speak about the value of a human life, even on the battlefield. The irony stung.

Byleth blinked, getting her head back in the fight again. Claude was at her side now. "Okay," he sighed, "so we're doing this." He fired his second arrow, his third, his fourth, all into the crowd of soldiers trying to flank the students' battalions at the base of the stairs. Then Felix rushed past Byleth, then Caspar, and then the professor quickly found herself following her students to the chaos at the base of the stairs, trying to catch up to Dimitri before he got himself killed.

The Garreg Mach battalions were getting the worst of it, trapped between the main Imperial force and the troops warped onto the staircase. While the enemy had stopped teleporting more soldiers behind their lines when the students made their way down the stairs, the damage had already been done. They were down to less than half of their fighting force, a few battalions already dead and gone. Dimitri was headed towards the left flank — the imperials had quickly shot down a squadron of Pegasi there, and had broken through where their troops once stood. Byleth tried to follow, but a seemingly endless stream of imperial soldiers volunteered before their blade, joining their fellow corpses at their feet.

Byleth looked back to their students behind them, trapped in the bottleneck at the base of the stairs, finishing off the last of the teleported Imperial troops.

The fight only grew more frantic as more combatants joined, bodies littering the bottleneck at the bottom of the stairs, the floor growing slick with blood. Under the harsh green light of the Holy Tomb, it looked black, like the sickly substance that reshaped Crestless men into beasts. 

As if on cue, one of those monstrosities reared its head over the front lines, writhing and screaming as fire poured out of its maw. Despite the animalistic pain in its every action, it avoided the Imperial troops, suggesting a level of sentience and loyalty that Byleth had only seen from crying as organization. They wanted to ask Edelgard why she was working with them, how she could stomach everything that Byleth knew she hated in the core of her being. They doubted they'd get that chance.

If any of their soldiers were going to survive that monster's torrent of fire, they would need reinforcements fast, and the staircase was too narrow to allow that. Even as Byleth kicked the legs out from under the last soldiers standing on its steps, it was clear they wouldn't be able to make it to the beast fast enough from that angle — so they needed a new one.

"Archers! Fire off the sides!"

That was only the first half of the order, but it was enough for their students to recognize the second part. As Bernadetta, Ashe, and their fellow archers hung back and picked off the imperials surrounding the staircase, other combatants spilled over the banisters. Caspar landed fists first, punching a man in the helmet so hard it dented inwards, and then overwhelming the bowman next to him with a flurry of blows before he had a chance to even notch an arrow. Meanwhile, Byleth followed the path Dimitri had cut, using it to get closer to the young prince while circling around to attack the beast from the side. 

While the majority of students fought their way forward, preparing for a unified assault on the Crest beast, Dedue broke off from the pack. He rushed after the king, shoving enemy troops aside with no thought to them. One mage tried to take advantage of this, fire circling his fingertips and forming an elaborate design as he prepared to blindside Dedue. Instead, he simply swerved from his path and charged at the mage, barely slowing down to pummel him with his gauntlets. Before the fire even had a chance to explode outwards, it fizzled and sputtered with its caster's death, Dedue already three strides past him.

Hearing his approach, Byleth felt a brief moment of relief, knowing Dimitri was much more likely to stay alive with his companion at his back. He had yet to take a hit, but Byleth's full attention had to be on the crest beast, and otherwise the two of them were overextended and in danger of being surrounded.

The red-hot blade in Byleth's hands slashed at the beast's snakelike tail, leaving it screeching as it wheeled around towards her, bright embers visible at the back of its throat. Opposite them, Lysithea bored a hole in the creature's armor with spikes of dark magic, while Lorenz channeled ice through his Lance and froze its hind legs solid. Before Byleth could even make a follow-up strike, Petra was whirling through the air, her sword making two full vertical rotations before plunging into the monster's crimson eye. She gracefully stepped off its back, calm even as the beast thrashed about wildly in its death throes.

Byleth could hear Dedue's arrival, the clang of his shield against steel close enough behind their head that it overwhelmed Byleth's ears, painfully loud even amid the disk wouldn't symphony of metal on metal filling the air. Next she heard the impact of a punch, then another, then a few well-armored knights staggered past her before falling to the floor.

Dimitri and Dedue stepped into their vision, the Prince reaching for a fallen man's spear and slitting his throat with it as he picked it up.

Byleth opened their mouth to give orders, but was cut off by an Imperial voice rising above the din: "The crest stones are in the caskets! Open every last one of them!"

In the distance, Rhea shouted something about preventing the desecration of the Holy Tomb, and protecting the crest stones. Byleth's students scattered, most breaking into smaller groups to hunt down the tomb robbers, the Byleth was able to catch the eye of a few. Hilda would provide a shield to Lysithea, Annette, and Linhardt; Felix would cut down any knights before they could reach the last complete Battalion of mages; and while Ferdinand, Marianne, Leonie, and Bernadetta were all independently heading to the last squad of mounted knights, Byleth was able to coordinate them with some quick hand signals into two groups that would converge on the nearby enemy battalion. 

The rest were too far away to order (without Byleth making themselves a target running between them), but Byleth would have to trust in them for now. If they were sure of anything anymore, it was their students, each one worth more than ten of the high-caliber Imperial troops they were facing. They would have to be, considering Edelgard had brought practically a whole army to face them. She was right earlier — this was the Archbishop's trap for the Flame Emperor — but even Rhea couldn't have predicted these numbers. The monastery above must have been completely overrun.

Byleth turned back to the Prince, but he and Dedue were already gone, ignoring the crest stones and making a straight line for Edelgard. The path to them had closed, now full of soldiers ready to impale Byleth — or die giving their comrades that chance.

However, Byleth wasn't as alone as they thought. The remains of the Pegasus battalions swooped overhead, led by Ingrid, who had recovered her own steed and three surviving others. 

A short spear sailed through the air and embedded itself in the back of the soldiers head, dropping his body at Byleth's feet before they even had to raise their sword. 

This brought them much closer to their destination, only a few dozen meters from the stairs — nonetheless, as Byleth pressed forward, they quickly found themselves beset on all sides by a pack of swordsmen. Narrowly dodging blade after blade, Byleth was backed into a corner until a violent flash of thunder and lightning crackled through the ranks of their foes. They followed up with wide swings of the Sword of the Creator, a costly tactic that would require quite a bit of repair but cut down the enemy commander and his entire battalion in a handful of blows, the blade leaving molten gashes in their chests as they fell.

Byleth looked behind themselves to see the source of the spell, only to find Dorothea standing behind them, adopting an adjutant position.

"I've got your back, Professor." There was none of her usual liveliness in her words, just solemn dedication. 

Before Byleth could offer a word or gesture of thanks, she pivoted to toss a Physic across the room at a battered Ignatz, hemmed in by ranks of armored knights. Lorenz stepped up with his frozen spear, but Byleth was too late to warn him against it — the steel buckled under the strain, rapid shifts in temperature warping the metal and snapping his spear head off even as he dealt a lethal blow. 

Annette dashed forward, slinging fire and cooking another armored commander before he could close in on them. Byleth's view was obscured by an attacker for a moment, making quick work of them with a parry and upward thrust, but that moment was all the situation needed to go from dangerous to life-threatening. Even as Annette let loose a cutting gale to follow up on the rest of the battalion, she was forced farther away from Hilda's protection, and an arrow soon found its mark in her arm. 

Hilda was already following after, swatting aside an Imperial soldier with her tower shield before burying her Devil's Axe in that archer's chest, but in her rush to come to Annette's aid she missed the forces closing in around them in a pincer attack. The enemy battalion charged from all sides, knocking the students to the floor and leaving them open for a coup de grace.

This was Byleth's fault. If it wasn't — if there was nothing they could have done to prevent this — no, they couldn't consider that possibility. They had to do better. They would do better, and silently thanked Sothis for the chance to do so.

With the sound of breaking glass and a single heartbeat, light and color turned inside out, and reality shattered and froze as if time itself had collided with something stronger. It happened in an instant. It happened every time Byleth used the divine pulse, and they were certain they would never grow used to it.

But for all its seeming omnipotence, the divine pulse had limitations. Byleth had once been more willing to turn back the hands of time, but that could only be done so many times in succession, and running out meant living with the consequences. 

It meant living with Jeralt’s death.

So Byleth surveyed the frozen battlefield, taking in the sea of Imperial soldiers and the islands of resistance, the students that were safe and the students that remained adrift in dangerous waters. 

Ignatz was on fire, his high magical resistance protecting him from the brunt of a spell, but still singed and burning. It was better than Hilda's armor taking a hit from a mage, but it still hurt like hell and was to be taken seriously. At his back, Hilda took another knight's blow, both shielding Ignatz and getting close enough to swing her own axe under the man’s helmet at his unarmored neck. Still, she was far from unscathed, standing bloodied from serving as the sole protector for these mages.

Two dozen paces behind her, Sylvain impaled an imperial soldier as they reached into the sarcophagus for the Crest Stone, magic flowing through the length of his Lance of Ruin as it melted and pierced the thief's armor. However, Byleth could see that he had moved within range of a full squad of Imperial archers. In moments he’d be under attack again, and Byleth could already see some wounds from an earlier spell at that distance.

Linhardt was towards the center of the battlefield, trying to maximize the range of his Physic, healing everyone he could. Unfortunately, this made him a target — and without any other commanders to back him up, he was forced to defend himself, electricity crackling and forming around his outstretched hand. He didn’t want to kill anyone, but he had to, again, and Byleth’s heart felt heavy. They weren't used to her heart feeling anything at all, but beside that weight, there was a sense of relief that Lindhardt wouldn’t have to feel the sting of the sword against his flesh.

Petra and Lysithea were both unscathed as of yet, but for every man they felled, another had stepped forward to take his place, leaving them both isolated, separated, and in danger of being surrounded on all sides. If not for the pillar behind Lysithea, she could be totally blindsided, and even two prodigies couldn't fight off enemies from three sides indefinitely anyhow. Petra still had her battalion with her, but at less than half strength, they were all in danger of being overwhelmed even as their commander made another leaping kill stroke.

Caspar had followed after Dimitri and Dedue, taking out Myrmidons and mages as he charged forward, never slowing down long enough to be hit — until he ran headlong into a towering knight. The dents in the knight's armor told the story well, and the blades that tipped Caspar's gauntlets had even pierced the platemail in a few places, but the young brawler paid the price for his speed and mobility; a single hit from the knight had cut a red gash across Caspar's unarmored chest.

Across the battlefield, a injured Mercedes called the holy light of magic to her hand, casting Physic even as she removed an arrow from her shoulder. Byleth could almost hear Manuela's words in her head about how you should never do that unless you were about to close the wound with magic. They knew Mercedes would be healing herself as well, but seeing her take hit after hit as she tried to help people was still painful. In front of her, Rafael charged the archer, but was unaware of the enemy battalion about to blindside his own people. He’d take down the enemy commander, but his troops would be stunned and cut down, placing him and Mercedes in a terrible position.

Ferdinand sped after the remaining horses. Bernadetta followed at a short distance, and as Ferdinand attacked head on, Bernadetta discouraged offensives all other sides with a judicious use of arrows. She was definitely panicking, but that never seemed to make her any less lethal.

Leonie and Marianne were already at the horses, defending their position and their battalion as best they could, but for all their strength the enemy's relentlessness had brought them near death's door. A well-placed lance pierced the oncoming knight's mount, bringing him low and scattering his entire battalion, but Leonie was still being healed by Marianne, and that left them vulnerable to the next wave of axemen.

Up ahead, Dedue's armor was doing him few favors. Lightning wracked his body, the divine pulse rendering it as a tree of frozen light and pain. Dimitri would be the first person to notice, but the empathetic young man Byleth knew was nowhere to be found, replaced by violent mania and singular purpose. 

This was dire. This was fixable.

None of their students would die. No soldier in their students’ battalions would die — the initial ambush was too far away and too well coordinated to simply avert by returning to the past, but not another one of them would lose their life. Imperial soldiers would die — some costs had to be paid in every battle, victory or defeat — but not all of them. Some could be saved.

Byleth released the flow of time, letting reality click back into its place. They gave their orders in code; it was one Edelgard doubtlessly would’ve informed the Empire of, but it still put another step between each enemy and total understanding, which was a world of difference on the battlefield. 

Their students heard, obeyed, and brought an army low before them.


	3. Chapter 3

Felix might not work well with the battalion structure, but he could back up his fellow commanders. He quickly cut his way towards Hilda, the two of them forming an impregnable wall of bladework that would decimate everyone foolish enough to assail them. Simultaneously, Lorenz and Annette got into position behind the two of them, Lorenz using his relic staff to cast magical artillery at a distance, while Annette brushed off hits from spells that would prove a problem to Hilda.

On the opposite side of the battlefield, Rafael and Leonie met to secure the Crest Stone, arrows and heavy blows flying as they took the battalion down. Before Marianne could be completely surrounded on her own, Bernadetta's arrows found their marks in the battalion of oncoming spear-breakers. Most of the horses were already down, and as Bernadetta leapt over one, she recognized it had been her own. She felt pain and fear and panic, but this wasn’t the old Bernie; she still felt all of those things all of the time, but it would never slow her down when she was on the field of battle. Instead, it just hardened her heart as she pulled back her bowstring, letting loose an arrow as she landed.

Moments later, Marianne, Ferdinand, and Bernadetta were all on horseback, with the latter two sharing one so they could adapt their earlier strategy. Bernadetta picked off auxiliary threats to their small battalion, Ferdinand took down commanders with his Lance, and Marianne supported them with magecraft as they plowed forward. 

At Byleth's back, Dorothea redirected Thoron to keep the pressure off of Ignatz, and give him a chance to surprise the enemy mages with his blade. Sylvain was ordered to fall back to Mercedes, and his lance flashed red as he struck down the commander of a flanking battalion from behind. Not only did this reinforce their defensive position, it gave just enough of an eye line to Caspar for Mercedes to direct her Physic at him. This finally let him break the healing focus he'd been relying on for survival, and return to dishing out a flurry of blows.

Dedue and Dimitri had finally overextended themselves, with the prince taking a bad gash to the side. Before Byleth could reach them, Ingrid dove in on her Pegasus, thrusting her relic Lúin through the thick armor of the soldier responsible, and using the momentum of the dive to lift him up on her spear as she soared back up again, dropping the knight about twenty meters off the ground. However, she had prioritized protecting her prince over her own safety, and had put herself in range of enemy bowmen. A whole battalion fired a volley of arrows at the wings of her steed, sending her spiraling in an uncontrolled descent to the ground. 

Byleth froze, instinctively reaching for Sothis’s power — only to discover that it wasn’t needed. Claude swooped in on a stolen wyvern, extending a hand towards Ingrid, and she took it. She still held her weapon in her free hand, and rather than mounting the wyvern behind Claude, she exchanged a look with him and readied her spear for the kill. The wyvern folded its wings in and dove, only pulling up when they were so close to the ground any stray polearms would’ve sent them spinning. Then, Claude pulled back with his feet in a motion that indicated a barrel roll. As the wyvern turned upside down, they dipped so low that Ingrid could slit the throat of the last crest stone thief with her passing lance.

With that, Byleth was able to focus solely on making it to Dimitri, a task made easier as they discovered they were stabbing the same fortress knight from either side. The towering behemoth of a man plummeted to his feet with a clang that was loud even amid the thunderous din of the holy tomb, revealing them to each other.

For a moment, the surprise on his face made Dimitri look like his usual self. “Thank you, Professor. It’s good to have you at my back.”

Byleth didn’t need to respond with words; the look she gave him said pretty plainly that he wasn’t making it easy.

“I know, but I’d rather leave here dead than let that dastard Edelgard leave here with breath in her body.” The battlefield didn’t give him time to wait for a response, but Byleth was certain he wouldn’t have anyways. Dimitri thrust a sword into an oncoming Imperial soldier still mid-attack, taking advantage of his own longer reach. He left the blade there, finally drying his own silver spear. “We are at the stairs now, professor. It’s time we finished this.”

Byleth obliged, clearing a small battalion of axmen with a sweep of their burning blade, then leaping onto the balcony's banister to put herself in range of Edelgard's Lieutenant. 

The lieutenant let out another of his cruel laughs as he leapt over the first sweep of Byleth's chain blade, performing a little acrobatic flourish as he landed. "I'm told it's fine to kill those that resist. Now then, how shall I cook you?"

Jeralt once said that there was nothing worse than an assassin who thinks he's charming. At the time, Byleth had thought that a uselessly specific turn of phrase, but this man was clearly high on his own ego. He giggled a little with each thrust and parry, the coxswain on his blade crackling and bubbling as it came into contact with the creator's claim. There wasn't time for this. People were dying while this man played. He drew close again, locking blades with her, getting in her face even as the magically treated Venin Iron of his sword began to give against the heat. "Would you like to be boiled? Sautéed? 

Byleth batted his blade aside, unflinching even as its poisonous edge cut into her skin, and grabbed him around his neck. "Skewered." She tossed him down the stairs, tumbling until he landed at Dimitri’s feet.

“Wait, no, I was just following orders —” the assassin screamed as Dimitri brought spear down through his throat, his final words choked by blood.

Dimitri didn’t give him a second thought, withdrawing his spear and bounding up the stairs two at a time, until he had passed Byleth. At the peak stood Edelgard, still reserved but far from serene. Byleth had known Edelgard as long as anyone but Jeralt, and could see clearly there was no anger in the young emperor’s gaze as she looked down at them. Just sadness, and the steel to kill whoever she deemed necessary.

"Despite what I said, I have no intention of killing you." She held a steel axe at her side, drawn but not brandished."So, why not stand down and get out of my way."

Dimitri snarled his reply. "Empty words, from one who has already killed so many. You gave up the right to pretend otherwise when you gave your soldiers that order — no, that time has long since passed. Do you know just how many people died in Duscur?"

Edelgard's eyes narrowed. "Those were not my orders."

"Do not try to say you have forgotten, monster." Dimitri held his weapon tighter, white-knuckled. "You lied about everything else."

“If you insist on seeing a monster,” said Edelgard, shifting her feet as she assumed a combat stance, “a monster is what you’ll find.”

The boar prince let out a war cry as he charged, wordless and savage, paying no heed to his own injuries. Her steel axe barely parried the tip of his silver lance, redirecting the blow from a thin point in her armor to merely graze the feathers on her shoulder. Her counterattack was swift and vicious, feinting a blow with her massive tower shield while she went for the legs with a deceptively fast swing of her axe.

Dimitri was forced to leap backwards onto the stairs, giving up equal footing to keep his foot. He didn't miss a beat, drawing a short spear from behind his back and hurling it at Edelgard. This one hit its mark, glancing off of Edelgard's armor but clearly damaging it.

Byleth took this opportunity to press the advantage, rushing forward with the sword of the creator burning bright in their hand. Its red-hot blade might be able to cut through Edelgard's axehead, or her gauntlet — or her skull, if it came to that. But she didn't get that chance, as Edelgard turned her tower shield to catch the sword at an angle, mitigating the damage by parrying the flat of the blade with her shield.

Behind them, Dorothea struggled to find a clean shot, as the two fighters circled around each other, related clashing against blade with neither giving their foe the chance to disengage.

"Professor… I will make no excuses. Thank you for all that you've done for me."

Her words had the sound of something like regret, but that steel never left her gaze.

Locking eyes and locking weapon, Byleth searched for some way to reach her student. Instead, Edelgard shifted her stance backwards and held her axe away from her, then used that backwards momentum to swing it full-circle into an uppercut motion. A deep red gash opened up on Byleth's arm, searing with pain. 

If they hadn't moved fast enough, they wouldn't have an arm to feel pain with.

"I'm sorry, my teacher. I cut this path, and now I must follow it." 

Dimitri leapt back into the fray, trying to attack her from behind while she was busy with the professor, but even in her heavy armor Edelgard was fast enough to wheel the tower shield around and catch his blow. The force of the impact sent Dimitri skidding back down a few steps, allowing Edelgard to press the advantage, hammering blow after blow down at him. 

With each strike he raised his lance to block it, the length of his polearm catching the handle of her axe, its steal blade reaching dangerously close to his face. With each strike, he lost ground, his feet forced to find the next step of the staircase by the sheer impact of the attack. Her strategy was relentless, vicious, unstoppable — and predictable. 

The smell of ozone filled the air as lightning traced a circle around Dorothea's outstretched palm, and Edelgard barely had enough time to raise her shield before crackling team of pure elemental destruction slammed into her, arcing across her heavy armor.

Edelgard was probably hurt. She didn't show it. Dimitri went for the face, a killing strike against anyone that heavily armored, but somehow she managed to sidestep with preternatural speed. This left him over-extended, his lance arm exposed, though it would only take him seconds to recover. Edelgard didn't give him that. She tossed her shield at him, forcing him to duck under it — and leaving his face right where she wanted. She slammed her armored knee into his forehead, sending him reeling, then backstepped out of his range before Dorothea could prepare another surprise spell.

"It doesn't have to be this way, Dorothea," Edelgard said, stepping closer to her, axe rasping as it dragged against the stone floor.

"Edie, I..." Dorothea's voice lingered for a moment, before her eyes filled with resolve. "I could say the same to you."

Edelgard never got a chance to reply, because that's when Byleth leapt down the stairs feet-first and kicked her down the rest of them.

Impressively, Edelgard managed to stay on her feet, steadying herself with her free hand as she slipped down to the base of the stairs. Still, the flame Emperor was beginning to waver. A thin line of blood trickled down the side of her face, now dirtied and bruised from the impact, and she wore a grim smile on her face — and then, suddenly, a flash of fear. She rolled out of the way, shedding some of her armor as an arrow whistled past the spot where her face used to be.

"Need a hand, teach?" Claude grinned from the back of his wyvern, bow in hand, safely out of range and ready to finish the fight. 

Edelgard looked to be cornered, unable to escape his range while Dimitri and Byleth blocked her exit up the stairs. They all knew that was too simple a solution to be true, but only Byleth recognized what was coming next, the reason she had only attacked from close range — the telltale signs of the spell Retribution.

"I'll admit, that was a good play," he said, nocking another arrow. "But you only get the chance to hit me once. Want to see what happens the next time you try that?"

Clearly, she didn't. A pillar of violet light descended from the ceiling as Hubert warped in, grabbing his Lord by the shoulders and teleporting her out.

But Dimitri wasn't about to let her make a clean getaway, injuries be damned. He went for Edelgard's neck, aiming to choke her with his offhand, but more likely trying to ensure he got dragged along for the ride. 

He succeeded, as Hubert ended the warp only a few meters away and in midair, trying to shake off the unwanted passenger. Just as they landed, and before they could recover, Claude loosed an arrow. Byleth had no idea how he could make the shot, standing at the base of the stairs while the others landed near the tomb's entrance, but even the barest sight-line was enough for Claude. The arrow found its mark in Hubert's leg, dropping him to the ground instantly. 

Byleth knew that magical healing could save it, but otherwise, he'd never walk the same again. Claude's shot had been expertly placed, even better than she had taught him, and she felt that regret once again. Hubert had clearly committed himself to the cause, but they still thought of him as their student, even if he was a cold bastard. Now, he was just another thing for Dimitri to step over on his quest to end Edelgard.

Axe clashed against lance, both parties wounded now, Edelgard faring the better of the two but missing more of her armor as Dimitri speared a shoulder pauldron. Byleth rushed to get into range, their sword of the creator affording them the reach necessary to do what she must. Its blade extended before them, the motion of their arm carrying its momentum forward into the melee. They struck Edelgard from behind; the dishonorable tactic of a mercenary, and one they couldn't help but think Hubert would appreciate in any other circumstance. Edelgard stifled a scream as the sword bit through her back armor, likely breaking skin underneath. Dimitri took this opportunity and pressed it, disengaging from the range of her axe before leaping back forward, spinning his spear as he did, getting as much momentum and weight possible behind the strike and —

Byleth couldn't watch him do it.

So they put themselves in the way instead.

The spear pierced their flesh, puncturing them in the side, its touch like sharp fire. She grunted, barely able to focus, and turned back the hands of time — no more than a moment or two, but it was enough. She parried the spear, redirecting it past her and Edelgard, the sheer impact of Dimitri blow still winding them but not wounding them.

She could hear Edelgard's breath hitch behind her. "Professor, I…thank you."

Byleth's answer was simple. "No more have to die."

Outside of their duel, the battle had been won. Dedue and Ingrid were mopping up the last of Edelgard's battalion at the base of the stairs, while many Imperial soldiers were forced to surrender at spear point. Others refused, and were put down in battle, but it was clear who the victor of this engagement would be.

That wasn't enough for Dimitri. "If anyone should die for this, it's her," he spat, starting towards her with his spear brandished. "The Archbishop commands it."

Dimitri's next swing cut off Byleth's reply, a quick shift in his footwork letting him get a lunge at Edelgard's head. Again, Byleth moved to take the hit for her. And again, they turned back the hands of time. They parried his attack, letting his spear slide across her blade as she pushed it aside. He disengaged, pulling his spear back as if he was going to yield, but quickly circling it around the sword in her hands and going for a lower strike. Byleth could have blocked this one at first, but it almost didn't occur to them. It was as if she was in a trance – feel the pain of the strike, rewind, counter the hit, repeat. Each time, Dimitri looked horrified that he hurt her, the shock of it finally snapping him out of his berserker rage.

But each time, she pushed back the clock. 

Finally, Dimitri's wounds got to him, doubling him over. "Why?" He screamed, still hunched like an animal. "Why won't you let that monster die?"

Byleth struggled to summon the right words — but even if they didn't have an answer, they could hear the footsteps of one walking closer.

"Your dedication to your former student is commendable, Professor." An undercurrent of anger ran through Rhea's voice, but it wasn't directed at Byleth. Even as the Archbishop spoke, she couldn't tear her eyes away from Edelgard. "But the time for her judgment is at hand."

Rhea clasped her hands before herself, standing before them every bit the regal Archbishop of the church. Nobody had quite gotten used to her presence, but they all had grown to expect it – but this time, it felt different. 

"You have disappointed me, Edelgard." Her expression was dark, and her every word rang with cold fury. "To think a descendent of house Hresvelg would dare betray the holy church…" to Rhea, this was more than a heresy. She spoke as if the goddess herself had been wounded at Edelgard's hand, and it fell upon her to deliver divine judgment.

Edelgard stood unflinching, refusing to be cowed before Rhea, glaring up at her as if she dared the Archbishop to treat her as anything less than an equal. Then she turned away, refusing to even address Edelgard further, and fixed her eyes on Byleth instead.

"Professor!" Rhea called to them with the authority of a holy summons, rage in her eyes. "Kill Edelgard at once. She is a danger to all of Fódlan. Such a rebellious heart cannot be allowed to keep beating." She wasn't demanding this of the professor — she was commanding it of her, speaking with the authority of God's word on her tongue.

Byleth simply turned and looked Rhea dead in the eyes, implacable. "She is at our mercy."

"She is beyond mercy." Rhea spat the words from her mouth like venom — anger that wasn't directed at Edelgard, but Byleth, who felt the sinking feeling that they had just become a target.

"Whoa now," said Claude, trying to sound more casual in an effort to diffuse the situation (and clearly failing). "She clearly wasn't acting alone, and keeping her alive to interrogate gives us a huge tactical advantage. Why would we kill her?"

Edelgard spat some blood from her mouth, wearing a thin and humorless smile. "It's easier to lie when nobody lives to challenge their truth."

Rhea seemed to draw herself even higher over them, seeming to loom over even Dimitri. "She has defiled the holy tomb, dishonored the goddess, and humiliated your brethren. Her crimes demand punishment."

"I agree, Archbishop." Dimitri was clutching his side wound, but he wasn't letting that stop him. His other hand still held his spear, and Byleth wondered if he was physically capable of releasing his grip in that moment. "Her death is owed. But as long as her collaborators are at large, the lives of others are at stake as well." He used his spear to support himself as he turned to Rhea, leaning heavily on it like a cane. "Besides, the church's influence in the West has been so weakened as of late — we would do well to avoid making her a martyr to the Empire."

Rhea ignored Dimitri, instead looking directly at Byleth. "Professor — Byleth — you must understand. She must make you understand. This is the divine will of the goddess, exalted necessity." She stepped forward, her rage giving way to something like sadness. "Please. Listen to her words."

Byleth had only one answer, as simple and brutal as a knife to the throat. "Sothis is gone now."

All the sympathy and humanity drained from Rhea's face as she recoiled from Byleth and drew herself to her full height, peering down at the professor. "So, this is the choice that you've made. You are just another failure." She would’ve looked serene, if not for the raw hatred and disgust in her eyes as she gazed down at Byleth, not raising her voice as she spoke but it nevertheless wavering with barely contained emotion. “Your presence soils this Holy Tomb and disgraces my brethren. I will not allow one who would lend our enemies strength to wield the power of the goddess Sothis.”

Claude’s eyes narrowed, his hand Almost imperceptibly beginning to move towards his quiver. “What exactly are you saying, Arch —”

“Silence, little Lord.” Snapped Rhea. Your mind is clouded with the weariness of battle. You are of no use here."

"You really do think you’re above all of us, don’t you?" Edelgard chuckled, a little blood trickling down from her upturned lips. "The arrogance of an immortal."

With a backhanded flick of Rhea's wrist, a plume of fire materialized and shot towards Edelgard, silencing her. She skidded across the stone floor towards the crumpled body of Hubert, barely able to stand. Dimitri’s hand went to his spear as if to act, but then froze, looking between Rhea, Edelgard, and Byleth.

Byleth had had enough. They drew the sword of the creator, its blade coming alight in their hands. Its reflection flickered in Rhea’s eyes, burning like her hate. 

“I have passed judgment,” she said, her voice ringing with pain and grief and betrayal as it rose, “and now I shall rip your chest open and take back your heart myself!“

A blinding green light erupted from her chest, exploding to fill the entire room, a wave of heat and then steam radiating out from where she had stood.

And when the steam cleared, Rhea was gone.

The wings were the first thing they all saw. They extended far beyond the cloud of steam, nearly spanning the entire balcony on which they stood, throwing them all into shadow even in the presence of the tomb's magical light. With a single beat of the wings, the steam dispersed, leaving them awed and terrified of the Dragon before them. At the shoulder, it was thrice the height of any man, and its maw could snap even a demonic beast in two. All the animal fury Rhea had been holding inside shone out from its blank white eyes. Yet it hunched, ready to lunge, like a predator. 

The Immaculate One let out a deafening scream as it leapt towards Byleth, its claws extending towards them, without any regard for the sword of the creator in her hand. The burning blade pierced the monster's flesh, but it only growled as it put its talons down upon Byleth, pinning her to the ground. They struggled beneath the incredible weight, driving the sword of the creator deeper into the dragons flesh, but its eyes only seemed to narrow in satisfaction as it raised its other hand. It could have killed them effortlessly, biting their head off with the same indifference as a human popping a grape into their mouth, but didn't. It wanted their heart. It wanted them alive for it.

Byleth reached out to turn back the hands of time — but felt another hand on their shoulder. The flash of purple was the only clue Byleth had to what happened, suddenly crumpled on the floor and seeing the dragon's enormous talons close on empty air twenty meters away. A soft, sinister chuckle came from behind them.

"That must be the Immaculate One," said Hubert, voice strained through his injuries but still getting some satisfaction out of this. "The true power behind Fódlan. She's finally deigned to show us her true face."

Edelgard screamed as she summoned all of her strength, leaping at the beast's exposed flank, greataxe in hand. It met flesh, but didn't pierce it, even with all her weight behind the blow — so she cleaved the motion through as best she could, maintaining momentum as she swung the axe in a full circle to finally slice through the beast's hide. "I'll never let you have our professor, monster!" Edelgard yelled, her cool demeanor giving way to actual fury. "I'll never let you have Fódlan! Not as long as this cursed blood beats through my veins! I'll —"

The Dragon swiveled its head around, its long neck bending in order to let it at its assailant, ready to bite her clean in half. Edelgard was forced to drop the axe, leaving it buried between the Dragon’s glistening white scales, and fell to the floor as the creature snapped at the air where she had just been.

"You back the hell away from our professor!" yelled Rafael, somewhere in the distance. Byleth heard the sound of steel piercing thick hide of a monster, could up and could almost make him out as he leapt onto the tail, launching blow after blow.

However, Edelgard was left unarmed, and the Dragon clearly had no compunctions about how she was dispatched. Ignoring Rafael, it went for a pincer maneuver between its jaws and its claws, boxing the Emperor in. But as it did so, something incredible happened.

A silver spear pierced the flesh of the dragon's arm, cutting through tendons, leaving the talons twitching and inoperable. Dimitri landed on Edelgard's other side, the momentum of the motion having carried him there.

He panted, bloody, crouching, but far from beaten.

The professor struggled to their feet, only to collapse again. "I have to… I have to…"

"You have to live," said Hubert, voice suddenly firm. "I understand your sentiment, but our lady is not without her allies."

The Immaculate One screamed again, its maw opening wide, more teeth than Byleth could count sticking out like needles from each jaw, descending on Edelgard and Dimitri. Edelgard struggled to her feet, charging in front of Dimitri to meet the beast, only to be blocked by a familiar face.

"I will protect His Highness," said Dedue, thrusting his armored form between the beast's jaws. He slammed his shield and a fist against the roof of the creature's mouth, then tossed the shield in before leaping away from its throat. 

The sheet of solid steel crumpled between the Immaculate One's jaws, but it bought them a moment. Even as the creature reared back for another blow, Hilda was there, swaying an axe at one of its supporting legs. "You know, if you guys weren't so reckless, I wouldn't be having to do this!" She shouted, a little of her usual teasing in her voice to disguise the panic. Still, she pressed on, swing her blade at the gaps between scales. "So I blame you a little! Just saying!"

This wasn't about to stop Byleth. They staggered to their feet. "The students…"

"Yes," said Hubert, raising himself up by leaning on a nearby lance like a walking stick. "Yes. We can't win this fight."

Byleth stumbled over to the edge of the balcony, where a few dozen shocked soldiers gazed up, frozen in terror of what they were seeing. "Full retreat!" Yelled Byleth, finally breaking them out of their stupor. "Everyone to the exit! Run!"

That did the trick, and they began to flood up the stairs, with some breaking away to support the fight against the Immaculate One. 

Several died as they crossed into her range, swept away with a flick of her tail or crushed underfoot. Byleth limped towards them, but was too far away for the power of time to give her any opportunities. They gritted her teeth together. Jeralt prepared them for things like this, for no-win scenarios, but neither of them liked to dwell on it. Now they were living it. Now they just had to save as many as they could.

The beast reared up as it saw them, beating its wings and rising, before diving in one smooth motion, faster than anything that large should be able to move. Byleth and Hubert dove in the opposite direction, only to hear the beast's form skidding against the stone as it wheeled around to make the same maneuver a second time. It didn't quite get the chance.

"Fusillade! Now!" Claude shouted toward the remaining soldiers at the edge of the exit. "You! Rapid fire! Left wing!"

As the Dragon leapt towards Byleth once again, it found its wings full of arrows, most failing to pierced the leathery flesh but still enough to drop it. It fell, tumbling over the edge of the balcony before it righted itself, screaming that horrible sound all the way. The whole tomb shook with the impact.

Byleth knew this was the best chance they'd get.

As soon as they saw the last of their students make it through the exit, they would leave — that's what they told themselves, at least. But suddenly there was an arm dragging them, Claude's arm, pulling them out of the room as Hubert hobbled alongside them.

"None of this self sacrificial crap, teach." Claude said, trying to smile. "We just had a close call last month, and I don't want to see what happens when you cut your way out of this one."

He was joking. They both knew Sothis couldn't save them now.

The last stragglers, including them, made it to the platform surrounded by impossible machines too large to be built in any forge, the strange light of crystals lighting their way. Claude walked over to the corner, mimicking the motions Rhea had made when she let them down into the holy tomb. 

"This is gonna work. This has to work." Only Byleth was close enough to hear him muttering under his breath.

A screaming roar rose from behind them. It made every wound sting, the very sound of it rattling with magic.

But the platform began to rise.

“Nicely done,” said Edelgard. "You have my thanks, Claude."

Claude gave her a look. "Right. You and I — hell, all of us — are going to need to have a talk about this real soon."

"Don't think this erases your sins," said Dimitri.

"You'll be free to ask after all my sins, real and imaginary, after we make it to my camp. But first we have to get out of Garreg Mach. It took an entire army battalion Legion to get to the holy tomb tomb, and —" The lift finally rose to a stop. They were there.

And all Byleth could hear were the sound of swords clashing outside, echoing through the Cathedral. Voices, beautiful choirs, had filled the space. Now it was a choir of steel, and the voices of the dying.

"Goddess, protect us…" Marianne breathed.

Dimitri's eyes darted from Edelgard over to Byleth, suddenly filling with concern. "Professor, are you—" 

Byleth looked down. They had lost a lot of blood.

And were continuing to lose it.

That's when everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we're officially off the rails. Get excited for the three house leaders to try and make sense of what just happened!  
> Also, holy crap, I just realized I left in my voice-to-text's incorrect spelling of Dimitri. Glad I caught it now, but...geez. If I'm missing anything else, please call it out in the comments so I can fix it.
> 
> Also! If you want any particular character supports for this route, feel free to request the characters and I may include them in a separate companion fic!


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